#bacillaria

cc: "But we've seen over and over again the way that shapes have misled scientists when it comes to classifying organisms, or the way that the shape of something can actually lead to more questions that can only be answered by studying the inside of the cell. But that's the joy of shape: it's an entry point into the microcosmos, a way for us to wonder about organism and environment alike."

Journey to the Microcosmos- The Diversity of Shapes in the Microcosmos

Images Originally Captured by Jam's Germs

"It's also easy to look at the existence of a living thing and assume that every detail of its being has been optimized through eons of mutations and selection for a specific and there is an extent to which that's true. The world places all sorts of demands on life: the need for food, for reproduction, for warmth, for light, for dark, for movement. We respond in kind by prioritizing and balancing those needs, and shape is one way we do that."

Journey to the Microcosmos- The Diversity of Shapes in the Microcosmos

Images Originally Captured by Jam's Germs

"Proving this hypothesis took a lot of work. Scientists spent decades studying spirochetes in viscous solution and mouse stomachs, as well as comparing them to other bacteria, all just to show that this shape gives them a physical advantage in colonizing bodies. Even then there are still so many aspects of the helical life and the advantages it provides them that are still conjecture."

Journey to the Microcosmos- The Diversity of Shapes in the Microcosmos